We are a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. Believing in the inerrant Word of God. For more information please follow the link PCA Beliefs.
OUR VISION
Offering Grace and Truth to the Shoals and Beyond
We envision a church that is filled to overflowing with Grace and Truth. This would be evident in six vital areas:
1. We envision a people who are transformed by a relationship with the Man of grace and truth.
We envision us as a church that is taken up by the person, work, forgiveness, claims, presence, commands, return, name, and reputation of the Lord Jesus Christ. We would be overcome with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that we are accepted into heaven based on the work of Him who died for us. Since we are saved by the work of Christ alone, we would be a people who have personal allegiance to Him, and see all of religion as a response to His gracious work. We would see Him as our constant motivator, strengthener, example, help, and Lord. His life in us and our standing in Him would transform us daily. Christ and His honor wouldn’t be far away from our conversation and thoughts. Christ and His gospel would be our central focus.
As a result, we would be a people of joy and freedom with one another. We would be accepting of the weak and young in Christ. We would be a haven of rest to those in the Shoals who have been wearied by churches who have told them to earn their salvation through religious or moral works. Anyone who visits will sense a spirit of joy, inclusiveness, and welcome. We envision anyone who becomes part of the body will be challenged to follow with us and come close to Christ, think of Christ, find freedom and joy in Christ, and be transformed by His saving love.
2. We envision a people who long to be worshippers in grace and truth.
We envision a church where worship is according to the truth in Scripture in tone, content, and style. We envision a church where worship is warm and spiritual, engaging even the visitor with a tone of reverence and silence, yet with an underlying sense of joy and grace that can only come from a corporate encounter with God. The service would be a display of Christ as He is found in the Scripture, filled with grace and truth. The music would always be stimulating and powerful and be marked by enthusiastic congregational singing. Our congregation would not only participate with singing, but with full voice in various parts of the worship service. Our worship would be qualitatively different than most churches in dodging the common mistakes of entertainment, detached uninvolvement, dry ritual, and romantic emotionalism. Prayer would be the delight of our meetings together, and it would spill over into our daily lives. The preaching would be known for its exposition of Biblical truth and a passion for souls.
As a result of this longing, we envision a sanctuary full of passionate, reverent, joyful people struck with the grandeur and grace of God in the warmth of spiritual worship. You would always be able to sense life in our midst. We would even find a way to share with others what God has done in our worship, spreading how joy and reverence comes together by God’s spirit.
3. We envision a people who see themselves in the school of grace and truth.
We envision a church that is known for its seriousness about truth, doctrine, and about growing in knowledge of the Scripture. We would be a church which loves the preaching and teaching of the Scripture. We envision a church that is sold out to the Reformed faith, unhesitatingly proclaiming the true gospel and the doctrines of grace to a world that simply doesn’t believe them. Nevertheless, there would also be a constant desire that all the truth we learn would deepen our appreciation of Christ and His grace and result in greater love for people and God.
Since we all see ourselves as students, all ages would be active in reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible. We would all be sold out to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Further, our vision is that we will find a unique and effective way to get God’s grace and truth out to believers and unbelievers alike outside our walls.
4. We envision a people who belong to each other in a fraternity of grace and truth.
We envision a people with a powerful attachment to each other, and a sense of belonging to the spiritual family that rivals any other attachment they have. So deep would this commitment be that people would prioritize being together in small, medium, and large group settings. They would encourage and share their hearts with each other freely. We envision a church full of people who spend significant time with each other outside of Sunday in spiritual and encouraging relationships. Every member would be in regular prayer for each other, and spontaneously seek ways to tangibly help and support each other. We will find a system that effectively helps us watch over the flock and spreads this love to the whole church, not just to some in one group or another.
As a result of this fraternity, we would treat each other with grace and encourage each other with truth. Church and home would be characterized by quick resolutions to disagreements. When anyone would come into the church there would be open arms for them to be included into the warmth of our fellowship. In fact, our care for one another and all who come would be a natural attraction to all in our community who need the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
5. We envision a people who see themselves as an army for grace and truth.
We see a church with zeal to spread grace and truth to the world. We envision a church that believes they have a unique “product” of grace and truth that is desperately needed in our area. Every member would automatically think of himself as a cog of some sort in the calling of spreading salvation and spreading the gospel of grace and truth to the world.
As a result of this, people would constantly be on the lookout for others to whom they could invite to church, tell the gospel, and/or do some good in the name of Christ Jesus. Prayer would constantly be made for those who do not know Christ and those who need God’s help outside our walls. We envision a greater and greater percentage of our people being personally involved in stretching, sacrificial ministry, even to the point of a steady stream of our people committing themselves to vocational Christian ministry at home and abroad. Missions, church planting, and church renewal would dominate much of our prayers and our budget. We envision we would develop a unique evangelistic, kingdom, renewal, or mercy witness or ministry that would be our signature to the city and even to the world.
6. We envision a people who have leaders filled with grace and truth.
We envision our church being led by men of vision, unified together by a common Lord and a common goal. Ministry Center chairmen and WIC leaders would likewise show these same traits.
Our leaders ought to exemplify all five of the above areas. Consumed with the grace of Christ, they would speak and live as men and women of grace, with a focus and priority on their relationship to Him. They would be humble servants, filled with grace, optimism, sincerity, and love for the people of the church. They would be men and women of change, becoming change agents wherever they are. Since they are worshippers, they would be found faithful and serious in all the opportunities to worship that the church affords. Since they are absorbed with truth, they will found to be reading, studying, and listening in order to grow in truth. Since they are shepherds, they would be found among God’s people both on Sunday and during the week. But they would also be known as leaders outside the church and in the community. Since the officers are men of ministry, they would initiate, oversee, and administrate the ministry center for which God has called and gifted them. They would include and recruit scores of laymen to help organize and lead the various ministry centers and projects. We would find a method to teach, and encourage young Christians to grow into leadership positions in the church and their community.